Cutless Bearing Replacement

[svsjora]

Just got finished replacing the cutless bearing in Sjora my MkII Catalina34. A true pain in the a** job but made a bit easier by info gleaned from the C34 web site tips. I really didn't believe that the shaft could be removed with out dropping the rudder, but it can! It's a bit scary watching things distort as the shaft gets pulled by the rudder but it works with no damage done. I slipped a plastic milk bottle over the end of the shaft to prevent the threads from gouging the rudder and as was suggested in Tech Talk used lots of lubrication on the shfft as it pulls through the bearing. Removing the old bearing required the use of a hacksaw to split it and the judicious use of a variety of small chisels, nail-sets, screwdrivers, etc. to peel the old bearing out.
OK so that was the easy part. Putting the whole thing back together was more interesting. By the way the cutless bearing I used in a Johnson/Duramax brass sleve bearing code name "BACK". After polishing up the inside of the strut and giving it a light coat of "Never-sieze" I put the bearing in the freezer to shrink it a bit and inserted it part way into the strut. At this point I decided to try to insert the shaft. I was pretty aparent that with the new bearing in place there was no way the shaft would fit because of the tight tolerances, without serious damage to the bearing. So out with the bearing, in with the shaft, refreeze the bearing, slide it onto the shaft and into the strut. How do you press fit the bearing with the shaft in place? I used a zinc anode which fit over the shaft and a short piece of plastic water which allowed me to push and tap the zinc until the bearing seated in the strut. Piece of cake! While I had everything apart I intalled a "Shaft Razor" between the prop and the strut and a 1" spacer between the flanges to move the prop back enough to have room for the line cutter.

[kntclark]

I had the local yard replace my cutlass bearing the last time the boat was hauled.  They had some type of device that fit over the shaft and strut and was connected to a hydraulic pump on the ground.  They removed the prop, pressed the old bearing out and pressed a new one in in about 15 minutes.  I think they charged about $50 for the whole thing including the new bearing.  Your story makes it sound like the deal of the year.

Terry Clark
Yet To Be #1095